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Most of us don't realize it but we have a tendency to compartmentalize everything in life into 'either/or' buckets. Either something is good; or it is bad. It can't be both.
It is this mental framework that leads us to think of, for example, fear as bad; doubt as bad; positive thinking as good; struggle as bad; confidence as good. And so on.
But while she was in the midst of her Texas beef trials, facing some of her biggest challenges, Oprah came to realize that, "your deepest struggle will produce your greatest strength."
In O magazine, she quotes Eleanor Roosevelt: "You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face."
And then, in her own words: "What I know for sure is there is nostrength without challenge, adversity, resistance, and often pain."
In other words, strength and struggle are different sides of the same coin. They are both essential to your life. If you make the mistake of labeling struggle or doubt or fear as bad, you will avoid them. And then, you will miss out on the opportunity to discover your greatest strength.
Now, extrapolate this perspective to everything else in your life. As it is with feelings, so it is with everything else. For example:
If you look at everyone in your life through the 'either/or' lens — either they are good or they are bad — you will miss out on the opportunity to discover the greatest strength that hides within every human being.
Because the intrinsic truth of every human being is also that their greatest weakness is the source of their greatest strength. Weaknesses and strengths are different sides of the same coin. They go hand in hand.
This is one of the key shifts in perspective that is vital to transforming all your relationships and also, to changing the world. It is imperative that you make this shift and that you make it your way of looking and your way of life.
But her greatest gift to the world is something she desperately wanted kept a secret — her letters written over 50 years expressing doubt in her faith and in her work.
Most of us in the world today have been brainwashed into looking at people around us superficially. We only see the outside of an individual and assume that what we see defines the person.
For example, until recently, when Mother Teresa's secret letters became public, we saw her as kind and generous — a missionary, a leader, a true steward of humanity, driven by her faith to make extraordinary sacrifices in service to others.
But the truth that has now been revealed is that there was far more to her than any of us saw on the outside. She was — inside — torn about her work and her faith … and also, about living up to her public persona.
Thank you, Mother Teresa, thank you for documenting in writing your innermost turmoils and sharing with us the truth about yourself. You have graciously opened the door for all of us to learn to look beyond what we see on the outside of each other ... and seek the truth within each other.
A new study reveals that Diversity Training has little or no effect on the racial and gender mix of a company's top ranks, reports Time Magazine.
The study is the result of three sociologists sifting through decades of federal employee statistics provided by companies.
What causes this dismal state of affairs?
In the words of social psychologists:
But here is the most important part. The sociologists specifically investigated only whether current Diversity Training practices succeed. They did not investigate whether the problem was the nature of the training itself.
Most Diversity Training is like all the other training we see in the corporate world. They teach: do this ... think that ... follow these rules ... learn these laws ... adopt these habits.
Over the years, the lack of great trainers hasn't given anybody any heart burn because there hasn't ever been any objective way to measure the effectiveness of any of the training. "What we don't know doesn't hurt us."
And the results should not be a surprise to anyone.
A recent cover article in TIME magazine began this way ...
We must spread a new revolution ... reshape the teaching force ... redeploy the dollars ... add new depth and rigor to our curriculums.
Finally! A major magazine acknowledges (in a cover article!) that how you see the world is by far themost important thing.
And it is. Historically, Freud ruled. And the 1990s were all Prozac all the time. But now it's time to move beyond Freud and beyond Prozac.
But the good news is ...
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Stories and articles of people in the news who see the world differently and, as a result, are making a true difference in the world
